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Japanese noise rock band Melt Banana found more success in the U.S. and the U.K. than in their own country, gaining a small but dedicated fan base among American and European punk rock fans. Although their music sounds noticeably different from any sort of traditional punk, it contains some punk elements: shrieking vocals, overdriven guitars, and one-and-a-half-minute songs. Melt Banana’s unique style, however, comes as a result of the distinctly piercing vocals of lead singer Yasuko O., as well as the frenzied, effect-charged playing of guitarist Agata. Searing, intense, and mind-blowingly fast are perhaps the first adjectives that come to mind when listening to Melt Banana’s music. Try to imagine an even more energetic incarnation of the Boredoms.

“A band who have justifiably been championed across the world, Tokyo’s MELT-BANANA have been responsible for some of the most complex punk rock ever made…. that far outshines ninety-nine percent of most other bands out there. The band once described their live show as “Shooting machine gun and laser beam, chaos in order”. And I think that pretty much sums them up.” – Olli Siebelt, BBC

“MELT-BANANA are in a league of their own. There are other extreme hardcore bands out there who are experimental and unique but MELT-BANANA are more than that. They are giants amongst infants. Masters amongst pupils. Kings amongst serfs. Nobody can do what they do and nobody can adequately use words to describe them.” -Jeb, Crass Menagerie

“That Melt-Banana is making some of the best music of their career—over 20 years into the band’s existence—speaks to the universal and transcendent quality of their noise. The landscape of media, society, and even the microcosm of noise rock has changed greatly, but Onuki and Agata have locked jaws on the diametric constants: energy versus agitation, phobia versus euphoria, and instant nostalgia versus the relentless pursuit of the upgrade.” -Jason Heller, Pitchfork.

If all that hasn’t managed to convince you to see Melt Banana for yourself, then it’s worth also noting that the legendary John Peel went as far as to describe them as “one of the world’s great bands”.